Zhang Financial LLC Has $3.32 Million Stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Zhang Financial LLC raised its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $3,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CAT. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Caterpillar during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Caterpillar in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Caterpillar during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC increased its holdings in Caterpillar by 42.9% in the third quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 130.0% in the fourth quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC now owns 115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Up 1.4 %

CAT opened at $386.03 on Monday. Caterpillar Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $277.66 and a fifty-two week high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50-day moving average is $380.09 and its 200 day moving average is $367.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $16.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.52 EPS. Research analysts expect that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be given a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Caterpillar from $376.00 to $434.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Caterpillar from an “underperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $365.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $380.60.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In related news, CFO Andrew R. J. Bonfield sold 10,000 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.09, for a total value of $3,800,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 45,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,173,226.38. The trade was a 18.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald Johnson acquired 100 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $398.57 per share, with a total value of $39,857.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 2,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,977.21. This trade represents a 3.51 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,868 shares of company stock worth $13,480,389 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.